News Canadian Open

Throwback Thursday (TBT) digs through the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling archives as we revisit historical moments of the series. Today we rewind to last season’s Meridian Canadian Open men’s final in Yorkton, Sask. Did somebody say, “a perfect game?”

Toronto’s John Epping and Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., were on a collision course for a heavyweight tilt in the men’s final during the 2015 Meridian Canadian Open.

Both teams were red-hot during the event qualifying A-side with 3-0 records and kept their winning streaks going through to the championship game. Fun fact: neither of them gave up a single steal all week.

Gushue was riding the momentum all season with six tour titles at that point including the most recent Grand Slam tournament, the National. Epping got off to a slow start to the year but was in the midst of a mid-season turnaround and rocketing towards the top.

Just getting to the final was no easy task for Epping, however, as during the semis he ran into Calgary’s Kevin Koe, who had just captured the Canada Cup title the previous weekend.

Epping held the hammer coming home, down by a point, and made a miraculous shot to score two for the win. Calling it an angle raise double is selling it way short, just watch the clip that we proclaimed the “shot of the year.”

How did Epping figure he’d have to beat Gushue? “Probably more shots like that.”

Well, consider it done.

Epping continued his unreal play and unloaded angle raises like they were nothing. Epping scored a deuce in the second to run away with it and followed that up with yet another amazing shot for two points in the fourth end.

“That’s exactly what you have to do against Brad,” Epping said after the game. “They’re such a good team you have to make the big ones. If not, the game would have been a lot closer. Again, fortunate enough to make those and it all went our way.”

Gushue shook hands after the seventh end, after being held to yet another single, as Epping captured his third career Grand Slam title with a 7-4 score. Epping finished the game shooting an outstanding 100 percent.

“It feels unbelievable,” Epping said. “It’s just so tough to win a Grand Slam. All the top teams in the world and to beat three or four of them this week all in a row, it’s just so hard to do. That’s what I think makes it so rewarding at the end of the day.”

It was the first Grand Slam title for third Mat Camm, second Patrick Janssen and lead Tim March. Janssen and March were in their second full season with Epping while Camm had just joined the squad earlier that year.

“I think we’ve just been working hard together constantly on the ice working on all the little things,” Janssen said. “That’s finally starting clicking and got us here.”